Lollipop

Side Chapter #1 - A Day With A Kid?

Corey

This chapter takes place half a year later after Chapter 9.

Being in Akihabara was one of Corey's biggest dream ever since he came to terms with his fascination towards Japanese Animation.

But walking down Akihabara's street with his loved one and a kid was never part of that dream.

His emerald green eyes shifted to his right and he was faced with Jun's smiling face. And a nine-year-old girl that glared intensely at him. When he tried to look away from both individuals, Jun grasped onto his wrist. The latter's fingers then loosened and his touch peppered down to his palm. Then, their fingers laced together naturally as if they were the keys to a puzzle.

"What's on your mind, Corey?" Jun probed as a Cheshire cat smile spread across his face. When Corey parted his lips to reply him, a gust of wind blew towards them, making some strands of Jun's hair land in front of him and cover his eyes. Half a year had flown by since Corey had gone to Japan to reconcile with Jun. Though Corey had to leave two days after the birthday celebration, they continued to keep in touch through the use of video call.

Through his video calls, he could tell that Jun's hair was growing longer than before. When he asked the latter about it, Jun dismissed it, saying that he was too lazy to trim his hair.

Talk about being lazy.

"Nothing. You should really do something about your hair, your fringe is getting longer that it's starting to irritate me," Corey sighed, turning to Jun's direction and his hand reached out to sweep Jun's fringe away from his eyes to the right side.

"You're starting to sound like a mom," teased Jun, with his dimples showing. 'Damn those dimples,' Corey looked away.

"I'm a guy, mind you," Corey hissed as he rolled his eyes.

"Dad then," Jun winked.

"..."

"I'm still here!" demanded the nine-year-old girl, Aika who was beside Jun. Aika was Aimi's younger sister. She was a young girl with a long black hair with bangs cut right above her eyebrows. The blue ribbon hair band that she seemed to wear often made her entire appearance seemed more innocent than she actually was. Like her older sister, Aika was bilingual, though she never really liked speaking in English. For some reasons, Aika didn't really like Corey. When Jun introduced him to her, she stuck her tongue out at him and ignored his presence. That first encounter with the little girl justified the reason why Aika and Aimi were related.

"Hai, hai." Jun patted the girl's head and unwrapped a chocolate flavoured lollipop. Then, he presented the lollipop to her as if he was giving a rose, instead of a sweet. Immediately, her eyes lit up and Corey could have sworn that there were sparkles in her eyes. That is the first time Aika smile when I'm around, Corey smiled to himself. When he tried to peek at Aika, Aika removed the lollipop in her mouth and stuck her tongue out at him with an evident glare on her young face. 'She certainly hates me,' Corey noted as he let out an inaudible sigh.

"Corey, do you have anything that you want to buy?" Jun asked as he pointed towards one of the popular otaku-related stores in Akihabara, named Animate. Corey's heart began to pump in excitement, his mind fluttering madly like a butterfly as he tried to suppress the smile that was threatening to show on his face. As a proud Otaku, he had always wanted to visit Akihabara and buy all of the figurines of his favourite anime characters. Now that he was here, he could buy whatever he wanted before he returned back to home country three days later.

"Yep, let's go!" With that, Corey pulled them along into the store.

-

"Finally!" Jun declared exasperatedly beside him and he dropped the shopping bags on the park bench and sat down on the said bench. "I can't believe the amount of things you've just bought! They're so heavy to carry!" Jun complained with a tired look on his face. "And you always complain that I shop too much."

"Well, you offered to carry them for me," Corey stated like it was a matter of fact. Then, he perked his eyebrows at Jun. "You indeed shop too much, excuse you? Whenever you come over, you'd buy mountains of I-don't-know-what. How many god damn friends do you actually have?!"

"Those are souvenirs! I have to buy them for my friends out of appreciation, ya know? Too many friends to count, but I only buy for those that I care truly about."

"..." When Corey realised he couldn't exactly rebuke him, he faked an eye roll and headed for the seat beside Jun. However, just before he could sit next to his beloved, Aika snatched the seat and clung onto Jun's arm.

"I want to eat ice cream, Jun-nii, can I get an ice cream?" Aika tilted her head, with a small pout on her face. Right after she said that Jun let out a dramatic sigh and he took his wallet out.

"Fine, I'll go and buy, wait for me with Corey-nii here, okay? Don't be a naughty kid and cause trouble for him," Jun said with a tired smile and then he left for the ice cream parlour. With that, Corey was left alone with the little girl that apparently disliked him.

Birds flew over him in union as both of them sat in silence. In awkwardness, he turned around to observe his surrounding. The wind blew gently, arousing the tree leaves to rustle in harmony. The pink cherry blossom that was grown onto most of the trees bloomed prematurely, making the entire garden seemed like a flower land. Corey had always thought that cherry blossoms in the anime he had watched were beautiful, but seeing them personally was a completely different feeling. Despite the great weather, the awkwardness he felt swept over him like a wave. 'Should I say something?' Corey debated mentally. After a second, he decided to do so.

"So... how's school?" Corey asked.

"Good."

"The flowers here are beautiful," Corey said as he peered at her direction.

"Duh." 'This girl...'

"What do you like play?" Corey attempted again, forcing a smile on his face.

"Don't know." With that, silence began to creep back and it made Corey feel ten times more uncomfortable than before. 'God damn it, I'm a 22-year-old adult, so why am I acting like this?' Just when he decided to give up on communicating with the girl, the girl broke the ice between them.

"Jun-nii is mine! He promised me that I'm the only girl in his life!" Aika declared with tears brimming on her eyelids. 'What the hell is happening? Is she going to cry now? That's why I can't handle kids! And I ain't no girl.' Corey immediately went to fumble in his pocket and he took out a tissue paper. He tried to help her wipe her tears, but she smacked his hand away and covered her face.

"It's not fair! He promised me... Because of you, he's going to change!" 'Where is Jun?'  Corey glanced at his surrounding but he did not see his lover. 'Him and his promises, damn it. I have to handle this myself,' Corey sighed. Corey pulled the girl towards him into his embrace and his palm touched her back. Then, he rubbed circles on her back and gave some time for the girl to cry before he said anything. At first, she struggled to get away from him but afterwards, she gave in and they remained in that position until Jun came back with an ice cream.

"Woah, woah. What happened?" Corey looked up and saw Jun's eyes widened in confusion. In response, he placed his index finger against his lips and shook his head. With that, Jun nodded his head and he sat back to his original position. Give me a lollipop, Corey mouthed silently at Jun. He knew that Jun was about to ask about the ice cream, but he ignored him. When the girl stopped crying and pulled back, Corey had already taken the lollipop from Jun and he unwrapped it.

"Did he give you a lollipop when you first met him?" The girl looked at him after Corey questioned her. Her head nodded as she bit her lips.

"A strawberry one," the girl puffed her cheeks and wiped her eyes with her hand.

"Well, Jun's lollipops apparently have some kind of magic power that pull people to him. How evil." That statement made both Aika and Jun laughed a little. Corey handed a lollipop to her and patted her head. "He gave me a lollipop too, I would know."

"That's mean," Jun winced.

"I get it that you like him. I like him a lot too. And he likes you the most, Aika. He talks about you sometimes and whenever he comes over to my country, he'll always remember to buy your souvenir. The necklace that you're wearing now is from him, right? That time, he walked from the first floor of the shopping mall to the last just so he could purchase something you'd like. He is still going to be the same guy that you know and he won't change. If he changes and neglects you, tell me and I'll whack him hard, okay?" Corey caressed her cheeks and smiled gently. The girl's facial expression then twisted into confusion as she fidgeted with her the heart pendant necklace around her neck. A moment later, she turned towards Jun and shook his arm.

"You won't change? You will stay as the same Jun-nii that I know?" She spoke gently, with a lollipop stick that rested against the right side of her lips. A small chuckle escaped from Jun's lips and he stroked her hair.

"Of course! What are you talking about? I will always be the Jun-nii that you know." With that, the girl pounced onto Jun and hugged him as if her life was depended on it. Corey smiled to himself upon seeing such scene but that did not maintain after he saw Aimi walking towards them. Before he could warn them both, Aimi was already there. Lifting her hand, she gave Jun a small whack in the shoulder. 

"What's that for?!" Jun whined as his nails dug into his hair, trying to ease the pain.

"Firstly, you did not answer my call. Secondly, why are her eyes red? Thirdly, you're being creepy as heck," Aimi remarked as she made hand gestures for Aika to come to her side.

"My phone is in silent mode! And creepy? No, I'm not! Aika, am I being creepy?"

"Jun-nii is creepy!"

"... Betrayer. Aika, you betrayer... The ice cream is mine."

"Jun-nii is not creepy at all!" Aika exclaimed as she flashed her best puppy eyes. Smiling sweetly, he gave the ice cream to Aika and said, "That's my good Aika."

"Whatever, thanks for bringing her out today. I had a shift earlier, so that really helped," Aimi faced Corey and thanked him. When her eyes peered to the shopping bags, she shook her head in defeat and said, "Aika, let's go."

However, the girl had different ideas. The younger girl went to Corey and pushed the ice cream to his hand. When he wanted to ask her why, she mumbled, "Thank you for today." And, she left with Aimi. 'She's shy,' Corey concluded when he noticed the side blush on Aika's face before she flipped her hair and left. The wind blew against Corey's face again as he discovered that he was left alone again, with Jun this time. With that, he shifted in with Jun and they spent a few minutes in silence before the Japanese expressed his gratitude.

"Thank you for today."

"Thank me for?"

"Aika...She cried, no? The way you handled... it is superb. Thanks," Jun faced Corey with a gentle expression on his face. The dimples on his cheeks deepened as his eyes bored into Corey's.

"Today was fun," Corey concluded as he licked the ice cream. "Both the shopping and with Aika. I had fun, so there's no need to thank me for that, i***t. If anything, thanks for holding the shopping bags for me. Let's leave already, just saying." With that, both men stood up and their fingers intertwined tightly as they carried an equal number of shopping bags on the another hand. Before they could take a step, Jun's face leant in, his forehead resting against his as he whispered softly, "I love you a lot, really." Then, their lips pressed against each other gently. When they pulled away, they gave one another a knowing look and they left the park, both with red hue colouring their face.